Miscellaneous Hacks - Rotating Banner System

With the Rotating Banner System software, you may publish literally anywhere standard banners and advertising, with no restriction but your imagination. Unlike many other products, it allows to show an unlimited amount of banners and advertising, which are randomly shown at the places you choose, and you may refer generically to an Ad by using specific placeholders.

Also the management is straight-forward and simple to use. Forum administrators with maintenance rights may add, edit and delete records from the Administration Control Panel (ACP), one of each representing a banner. After saving the new banner settings, they are immediately visible at your board.

Compatibility: from vBulletin 3.6.5 onwards

By the way, I do also install the hack on your boards, but since I am very, very busy, it may take some time (weeks) until it gets done.


Tutorials:

• How-to create my first banner (Flash).

Updates:

• 2.0.1: Simple click tracker added, HTML help included.
• 2.0.3: Small bug fixes; additional banner list, navigation bar, E-Mail field for banner event notifications and automatic save on scroll setting; absolute URL to rbs_banner.php in order to allow click tracking on non-standard pages; supported languages: English, Italian; Help file clean-up.
• 2.0.5: Small bug fixes; additional details in banner list; email notification for epired banners.
• 2.0.6: vbCMS compatibility bug fix; additional banner lists.
• 2.0.7: Usergroups filter: now it is possible to define a list of usergroups which may show a banner; additional vbCMS compatibility bug fix.
• 2.0.8: Various fixes and most of all, inclusion of the right files: admin_rbs.php, cpnav_rbs.xml
• 2.0.9: Extra comma fix in new record creation.
• 2.1.0: Fix for an occasional banner type selection bug, when the sample banners have been deleted or disabled.
• 2.2.0 (Major upgrade): Up to 10 different banner locations. Requires changes to your existing placeholders in your templates, since a more generic format has been chosen. If you don't need more than 2 different locations, you don't need to upgrade. Changed files: rbs_banner.php, admin_rbs.php
• 2.2.1: Minor bug fix in files: admin_rbs_h_banner_list.php, admin_rbs_v_banner_list.php
• 2.2.1: Hotfix for Max Clicks saving bug.
• 2.2.2: More listings and less files. PDF Help. Separate Italian add-ons and help. Duplicate button.
• 2.2.3: Minor bug fixes. Changed files: product-rbs.xml
• 2.2.4: Flash Banner support (beta). Changed files: product-rbs.xml, rbs_wrapper.swf, admin_rbs.php, English Help.
• 2.2.5: Hotfix for vBulletin 4.0.2 compatibility bug.
• 2.2.6: Checking for installed Flash Wrapper rbs_wrapper.swf; A few English FAQ; Help files. Changed files: product-rbs.xml
• 2.3.0 (Major upgrade): New modules: Delete Expired Banners, Disable Expired Banners; Detail Banner Statistics with unique access key for your customers; Updated help; Changed files: all.
• 2.3.1: Hotfix for missing field in rbs_hist table. Changed files: none, just update product.
• 2.3.2: Added: Unsupported option for setting any number of available positions between 1 and big bang. Fixed: Small bug and speed issues. Removed: Italian translation. Italians may now request support at www.vbulletin.it. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.
• 2.3.3: Fix: Copy selected forum ID's during banner duplication. Changed: start and end hours for new banners are set to 0:00 and 23:59 respectively. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.
• 2.3.4: Option: Send Mail Before. This option allows to schedule expiring banners differently. New variables for emails: $rbs_enddate: This variable holds the formatted banner ending date and time based on the standard formats for date and time in vBulletin settings; $rbs_name: This variable holds the banner name. EMail Notifications option description: Added direct links to the email phrases for quick changes. Changed files: rbs_mail_cron.php.
• 2.4.0 (Major upgrade): Removed: Option to enable or disable mailing. Banners with email addresses to notify are handled. Setting to reset mailing in single banners. Now, if mailing should be repeated, you will have to edit the banner from phpMyAdmin. Added: Order links in lists. The initial state is ordered by ID, as before. By clicking the titles, the other voices can be ordered. Clicking twice inverts the order. This works in all lists. Options to prevent counting and reducing thus a tiny bit of load. A new bunch of demo banners for new installations. Demo banners are locked into database in order to avoid 30% of the questions because of the 'experts' deleting them before trying the product. They can be disabled and modified though. The true experts can delete them after all testing from the database by using phpMyAdmin without side effects. Changes: Phrase for emailing about expiring banners, now also with direct links to the phrases. Demo banners. Our old publisher ID is replaced with the new ones, and old demo banners are updated with the new ones, if found. The functions have been exported to includes/functions_rbs.php. This makes the product code smaller and easier to maintain, and runs faster on sites where caching/acceleration is enabled. Changed Files: all *.php
• 2.4.1: Option Likelihood. This new option adds a weight to banners and allows thus to show one banner more often than another. The default weight is 100%. We also make sure that the final date of the default banners falls into a valid range. Changed files: includes/functions_rbs.php and rbs_stats.php.
• 2.4.2: Workaround for update sequence problems.

Hacks and unsupported add-ons:

• Banner Rotator Widget To CMS
• Rotate banners in-place
• Italian Translation

[floridaideal]

Hi

Is there anyway to display all the banners on one page? So say 10 banners list down a page with a space inbetween for example?

For example

Banner 1

Bannner2

Banner3

Banner4

Any ideas if this is possible with a tweek maybe?

Thanks

Stu

[Videx]

A while back, in the context of counting impressions and clicks, I reminded everyone that banner ads are practically useless to sponsors. While most of us old timers know this and understand it, I saw a very interesting article today that reinforces the concept of "banner blindness". Ignore this and keep counting at your peril.

http://www.businessinsider.com/eye-t...ps-2012-5?op=1
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/banner-blindness.html

[kamran_dotnet]

anyone test "Rotating Banner System" in vbulletin 4.2 ?

[clauz]

Originally Posted by kamran_dotnet

anyone test "Rotating Banner System" in vbulletin 4.2 ?

It is working fine.

[Rckcrwlr]

Originally Posted by kamran_dotnet

anyone test "Rotating Banner System" in vbulletin 4.2 ?

Working fine on mine...

[ohadpartuck]

Hi,
My site is here

I have added a banner today. It's the 2nd from the top to the left.
If i click on it after the movie is over (it's without loop), it opens the landing pgae.
If i click on it before the movie is over , it opens the landing page + the swf itself!!
why ??

PHP Code:

<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,2,0,0" border="0" width="150" height="75"><param name="movie" value="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=75"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf" flashvars="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=75" loop="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/get/flashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="150" height="75"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object> 


[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by ohadpartuck

Hi,
My site is here

I have added a banner today. It's the 2nd from the top to the left.
If i click on it after the movie is over (it's without loop), it opens the landing pgae.
If i click on it before the movie is over , it opens the landing page + the swf itself!!
why ??

PHP Code:

<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,2,0,0" border="0" width="150" height="75"><param name="movie" value="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=75"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf" flashvars="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=75" loop="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/get/flashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="150" height="75"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object> 


The wrapper does nothing to the banner, it just loads and shows it in a private container. It has proven to work with a large number of banners, but not literally all. There are always masters who break any best rule

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by floridaideal

Hi

Is there anyway to display all the banners on one page? So say 10 banners list down a page with a space inbetween for example?

For example

Banner 1

Bannner2

Banner3

Banner4

Any ideas if this is possible with a tweek maybe?

Thanks

Stu

Yes, with N placeholders one below another such as:

<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />

Where N is the number of the banners you want to show at once. Of course, you need that number of banners on that location, too

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by VBLUIS

Thanks for the reply y2ksw. But I do not understand exactly the difference CMS to charge for my sponsors.

I did not understand this part, may explain it a little more?


thanks

The more banners you have for your pages, the more they are split. Say you have 1 page and 100 banners, so each banner will randomly show about every 100th page view and thus count each 1 for 100 page views.

With 10 banners and 1 page each banner will randomly show about every 10th page view and thus count each 10 for 100 page views.

With 1 banner and 1 page the banner will randomly show every page view and thus count each 100 for 100 page views.

Now: with 50 banners and 2.000 pages, how many impressions will each banner have for 1.000.000 page views? (sorry, I made it a little more challenging)

[ohadpartuck]

The wrapper does nothing to the banner, it just loads and shows it in a private container. It has proven to work with a large number of banners, but not literally all. There are always masters who break any best rule

didn't quite get the answer. What are you saying? that there is no solution for this problem? my users will have to get the landing AND the enlarge banner when they click on the SWF through 'Rotation banner system'?